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UK Court Formally Approves Julian Assange’s Extradition to the United States


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The latest development in the Julian Assange saga is underway.

A UK court has now issued a formal order for the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited to the United States to face trial for “spying.”

British Interior Minister Priti Patel now holds the key to the final decision.

Assange’s lawyers will be able to appeal the High Court if she upholds the extradition.

Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006, which published several emails in 2016 from then-US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.

Assange has been confined in a London maximum security prison since April of 2019.

He still has a great deal of support from protestors in the UK, Australia, and the United States.

DW News has details on the court’s decision:

A UK court has issued a formal order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US to face trial over the publication of classified documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The case will now go to British Interior Minister Priti Patel for a final decision. If she approves the extradition, Assange’s lawyers can still appeal to the High Court.

Julian Assange’s wife spoke to the press following yesterday’s hearing:

Aljazeera has more on Assange’s legal options following the judge order:

While the move brings Assange closer to facing the US charges, his legal options have not yet been exhausted. His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel. If she approves the extradition, Assange can also try to challenge the decision by judicial review, in which a judge will examine the legitimacy of a public body’s decision.

The order comes after the UK Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited.

Following the most recent order, Assange’s lawyer, Mark Summers, told the court that the legal team had “serious submissions” to make.

Assange watched the latest proceedings by video link from Belmarsh Prison, where he has been held since 2019 when he was arrested for skipping bail during a separate legal battle.

Assange still has plenty of people willing to stand up for him during this process.

They’ve made it abundantly clear that this has been an unfair attack on democracy, and the freedom of press:



 

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